The 2016 Trainees completed their second class recently. It was held at Hornsby Bend’s Center for Environmental Research, a department of Austin Water Utility. Dr. Kevin Anderson (director of the CER) lectured on the history of ecology in the U.S. and Texas. Jon W. Zeitler (Science and Operations Officer, National Weather Service, Austin-San Antonio) spoke on the complex topic of what defines weather and climate, while Dr. Ruth Buskirk (University of Texas at Austin) introduced the trainees to taxonomy.
After lunch, Dr. Anderson gave the group a tour of the biosolids composting facilities, and led a hike through a small part of the 1,200 acres of riparian forest habitat at Hornsby. The walk highlights the bird blind built to facilitate watching the spectacular diversity of migrating waterfowl. At another stop, he discusses the progression some of the land made from being accidentally-bulldozed for a parking lot to becoming the mid successional forest that is present today.
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